Music · London
Fontaines D.C. Release Dopamine Chamber on Friday, Then Take It to The O2 and London Stadium
The band's fifth album is out on 16 October on XL, with Rosalía guesting; they play The O2 on Friday 27 November and London Stadium on 9 July 2027.
Fontaines D.C.'s 'Dopamine Chamber' is out on Friday 16 October on XL Recordings. NME's Andrew Trendell reviewed it on 12 October under the headline 'a doom-ridden escape from the band of the decade', and finds a band moving from the human elements of their sound towards harsher, more synthetic extremes, away from the scrappy guitar punk of their debut, 'Dogrel'.
He picks out 'Tongue', which pairs dizzying trip-hop gloom with a groove before a swampy breakdown he compares to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and 'Where Is Gone?', a lovelorn ballad featuring Rosalía that he hears as a mix of Ennio Morricone and a Bond theme rather than a pop single.
London dates
- The O2, Friday 27 November, the last date of a UK arena run that starts in Liverpool on Friday 20 November.
- London Stadium, Friday 9 July 2027, with Little Simz and Viagra Boys as support, Official Charts reported on 3 September, ahead of general sale on 10 September.
The UK arena dates were announced on 28 August, with pre-sale tied to pre-ordering the album. One caution: the Official Charts article's text refers to 2027 for the tour, but the weekdays and the album's release timing fit 2026, and Tixel's tour report, dated 3 September, also says 2026, so check your ticket.
On the usual chart week it should land in the chart published on Friday 23 October. A band whose new record is built on synths, samples and harsher textures is a sound-design story as much as a songs one; our guide to recording in a treated room is the other end of that process.